Articles Written By: Caleb M. Soptelean
POLSON – A 61-year-old murder convict was convicted of sexual assault at a jury trial last week. Donald Dean Grant of Arlee was found guilty of one of two sexual assault charges against two girls dating to 2006 or 2007. The girls were 4 and 7 or 8 at the time of the incident and alleged inc...
POLSON — A 43-year-old Polson man faces three counts of sexual abuse of children after he allegedly Facebook messaged a 13-year-old girl and propositioned her. Raymond Oliver Finley Jr. was arrested Sunday, Sept. 17, and held on a $100,000 bond. He was in court Sept. 20 but his arraignment was...
POLSON – A 22-year-old Ronan man has been charged with robbery, assault with a weapon and two counts of criminal endangerment after bullets allegedly whizzed by two children last month. A woman has also been charged in the incident. Nathan Joseph Mahseelah was arrested following an incident in...
POLSON — A 34-year-old Hamilton man faces charges of criminal endangerment and DUI after allegedly riding a motorcycle at speeds over 100 mph in Ronan and Pablo. Zachary Lang Bice, who is on probation for a criminal endangerment conviction from 2007, had a blood alcohol content of .106 following a c...
POLSON — A 22-year-old Dixon man was given a three-year deferred sentence for an amended charge of criminal endangerment last week as part of a plea agreement. Jessie Lee Walking Eagle was originally charged with two counts of child sexual abuse and misdemeanor tampering with a witness. Acc...
POLSON – A week of cooler temperatures combined with rain and snow at high elevations impacted the Liberty Fire last week, and more of the same forecast this week should continue to put a damper on things. Devlin Lafrombois, a fire prevention specialist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Trib...
POLSON – Gibberellic acid, stem-free cherries and cherry powdery mildew were just some of the topics discussed at the third annual Montana Cherry Symposium, held Sept. 14 at KwaTaqNuk Resort. Sponsored by the Montana Department of Agriculture, the one-day event featured speakers from Oregon, W...
POLSON — A 63-year-old Polson man pleaded guilty to sexual assault and indecent exposure with a minor younger than 16 on Sept. 13. Robert Walter Bertsch is to be sentenced on Nov. 8. According to a court document, Bertsch took off an 8-year-old’s clothing, touched the child inappropri...
By Caleb M. Soptelean/Valley Journal DAYTON – “Fired up for the ‘50s” was the theme of this year’s Dayton Daze, which went “extremely well,” according to Zoe Lilja. Lilja, who serves as secretary/treasurer of the Chief Cliff Volunteer Fire Department/QRU and ch...
News from Flathead Basin Commission During the 2017 legislative session, House Bill 622 was passed into law. This statute provided the Flathead Basin Commission with the authority to create an Upper Columbia Pilot Program to better protect the Basin from the possible introduction of invasive musse...
